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  • Winter semester intake

Biology (M.Sc.)

at TUM in Munich

At a glance

Language
Bilingual
Duration
4 sem 120 ECTS
Intake
Winter semester
Tuition
€4,000 per semester; see fee notes
Semester fee
€97

● Closed for this intake All applicants · Winter semester The window usually repeats next cycle; the full deadline table below shows every route and date.

Focus areas: Biochemistry/Cell Biology · Genetics/Biostatistics · Medical Biology · Microbiology · Ecology/Environmental Management · Plant Sciences · Animal Sciences

Research-oriented biology master in which students specialise in at least three of seven focus areas, concluding with a six-month thesis. ⚠ Language depends on the focus areas chosen: some are German, some English, some both. Based at TUM's Weihenstephan campus in Freising, approximately 45km north of Munich. Students typically live in Freising rather than Munich.

Admission requirements

Prior degree
Bachelor's of at least six semesters in Biology, Molecular Biotechnology, Biochemistry or a comparable subject
Minimum grade
No fixed grade cut-off - admission is decided by the aptitude assessment.
English
TOEFL iBT 88, IELTS 6.5 or a Cambridge Main Suite certificate (an alternative to proving German).Applicants educated in German or English need no separate certificate.
German
DSH-2 or comparable (an alternative to proving English). TUM: "Depending on the focus area you choose, you can study in German, English or both languages" - so the language you need depends on the focus areas selected.
Prerequisite credits
  • At least 120 ECTS must be on the transcript at the time of application (150 for a seven-semester bachelor's, 180 for an eight-semester one).
Also required
Eignungsverfahren (aptitude assessment) applies. Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission - applicants are ranked. Check TUMonline for current procedure details. uni-assist VPD (Vorprüfungsdokumentation) required for applicants with a non-German bachelor's degree; APS certificate required for applicants from China, India and Vietnam.

Deadlines & timeline

Deadlines differ by where your degree is from. Dates change every cycle, so always confirm on the official page before planning. Where no fixed calendar date exists or none is confirmed yet, the Details column explains each case.
Who Intake Deadline Details
All applicants Winter semester closed for this intake; next cycle usually repeats the same window Application window 1 January - 31 May annually via TUMonline. Applicants from outside the Lisbon Convention area face an earlier TUM-Test sub-deadline of 29 April - apply early. TUM strongly encourages non-EU applicants to apply by 15 March so there is time for visa processing; missing documents such as the uni-assist VPD can follow until the final deadline.

Fees & funding

Tuition
€4,000 per semester
Semester contribution
€97
Semester ticket
not included

⚠ TUM charges tuition to non-EU/EEA students newly enrolling from WS 2024/25: €4,000/semester for this programme (confirmed verbatim on the TUM programme page), on top of the €97/semester Studierendenwerk fee (WS 2026/27). EU/EEA citizens, holders of a German Abitur and holders of a completed German degree pay no tuition; merit- and need-based fee waivers exist. No semester ticket is bundled - students subscribe separately to the discounted student Deutschlandticket. Verify at https://www.tum.de/en/studies/fees

Scholarships are listed per university: see TUM scholarships.

How to apply

uni-assist
required (the deadline table shows who this applies to)
Application portal
campus.tum.de
Official page
www.ls.tum.de

EU applicants and holders of German degrees usually apply directly via the university's Campusportal instead of uni-assist; the deadline table above says which route applies to you.

What students say

Via StudyCheck · 2024-2026: an aggregated rating, not our own assessment, paraphrased in our own words and never quoted.

4 /5

45 StudyCheck reviewers rate the programme 4.1/5. Reviewers rate the Weihenstephan biology master above the TUM average, valuing how it consolidates bachelor-level knowledge into deeper, research-led study. Course content, teaching staff and access to literature score particularly well, and the medical-biology direction is singled out as a highlight.

Liked

  • Content ties bachelor knowledge together into deeper understanding
  • Strong, well-rated teaching staff
  • Good access to literature and resources
  • Flexible choice of focus areas
  • Research-oriented, motivating atmosphere

Criticised

  • High workload and demanding pace
  • Freising is less central and less lively than Munich
  • Some organisational friction

Where graduates go

No alumni outcome data found yet.

External resources

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